Golf putter



Nov. 6, 1962 R. w. DUDEN 3,062,549

GOLF PUTTER Filed Aug. 18, 1960 Rober'f' W Duden IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent Chico 3,062,549 Patented Nov. 6, 1962 3,062,549GOLF PUTTER Robert W. Duden, Portland, Greg, assignor of forty-fivepercent to Chester G. Patton, Portland, Oreg. Filed Aug. 18, 1960, Ser.No. 50,452 7 Claims. (Cl. 27381.3)

My invention relates to golf putters and is directed specifically tothat type of putter which is used croquetmallet-style with the golferfacing the line of the putt and with his feet straddling the projectedline. The ball is stroked while lying between the balls of the feet orslightly outwardly towards the toes. Such type of putter has a shaftjoined to the putting head substantially at its midline. The putter headis preferably elongated so as to lie in a horizontal plane with theshaft extending upwardly therefrom. Golf putters of this general typehave been designed and used in a limited way, but have not been widelyaccepted. They are legal and authorized under United States GolfAssociation rules and regulations.

it is my observation that such a putter should hang pendent from agolfers hands, should be so proportioned and arranged that the golfermay stand with his eyes directly over the ball and its line of flightwith his feet arranged square, and astraddle of said line of flight sothat the ball may be stroked with a pendulum swing with the elbowslightly touching the sides of the body. If the putter shaft is straightor substantially straight it is possible for the shaft to rotate on theback swing so that the putter head may become out of square with theprojected line of flight and out of alignment therewith. I havediscovered that if the putter shaft has a decided bend at its midpointthat the putter may hang comfortably in addressing the ball, will notrotate, will remain square with the line of fli ht and swing inalinement therewith.

It is therefore a principal object of my invention to provide a golfputter which when hanging plumb from a golfers hands will have the lowerportion of the shaft in line with the golfers eyes and with the back ofthe golf ball. Said lower half of the shaft will incline rearwardlytowards the putter head and, due to said conformation of the putter, maybe moved backwardly low upon the ground without rotating and withoutwavering from a projected line along which the golfer intends the golfball to roll. A putter thus arranged also puts substantial overspin uponthe ball due to the shape of the shaft and the face of the golf club sothat a golf ball struck with a putter so constructed will follow theputting line and follow its projected line of flight.

Further features of my invention and the details thereof are hereinafterdescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a golfer using a putter embodying my inventionas he stands in making a putting stroke;

FIG. 2 is a side view of such golfer and putter illustrating the mannerin which the golfers eyes sight down the lower half of the putter shaftat the ball lying between his feet, while his hands are arrangedsubstantially rearwardly from said sight line and with the putterhanging pendent from his hands;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a putter embodying my inventionillustrated in connection with a plumb line, showing the degree ofangularity of the shaft of a putter and the vertical alinement of theputter face with said plumb line and its angularity with the lower halfof the putter shaft; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a putter head for a putter embodying myinvention illustrating the degree of loft which is formed upon saidputter face with respect to the lower portion of the putter shaft sothat the putter face will be vertical when it is used to address theball, as the putter is illustrated in FIG. 3.

A golf putter embodying my invention is provided with a shaft 1, havingan upper portion la and a lower portion 1b. Said portions aresubstantially of equal length and subtend a substantial oblique anglebetween them. The point of joinder between said portions presently isrounded upon a smooth sweep 1c. A club head 2 is joined to the lower endof lower portion 1b and a grip 3 is secured to the upper end of theupper portion of the shaft, in the usual manner. Except for theobliquely angular relationship of said shaft with respect to its severalportions, said shaft and its grip are of usual conformation but may varyto meet the various styles and needs of putter shafts in the mannerswell recognized in the art.

The lower portion 1b of the shaft is joined to the club head atsubstantially its midpoint 2a. Said club head preferably is elongated,massive and has a striking face 4 of rectangular shape, having a widthslightly less than the diameter of a golf ball. I have found that a goodrelationship of Width to length of such striking face is one inch bythree inches. The sole 5 of the putter head is preferably of sled-runnershape. That is, it terminates at the striking face in a planesubstantially normal or at right angles to the striking face and curvesupwardly upon a smooth curve towards the trailing edge 6 of the clubhead.

The back of the club head is preferably provided with a flange 7a sothat substantial mass lies directly behind the point of ball impact withthe club face. Such disposition of mass provides low swinging weight.Said flange also provides a sole of substantial width, fore and aft,that is, at right angles to the striking face so that the putter doesnot tend to catch the turf either upon the back swing or upon theforward swing. Although this conformation of the putter head in lateralcross section is preferred, it is not essential.

The lower portion 1b of the shaft extends substantially at right anglesto the upper face 8 of the putter head. The striking face is providedwith approximately a 10 loft as is illustrated in FIG. 4. This is nottrue loft which would tend to give back spin to the ball, because whenthe club is held pendent, as is illustrated in FIG. 2, a plumb lineextends from the upper end of the grip in parallelism with the strikingface 4 and the lower end of the shaft slopes forwardly down the line ofputt at an angle of approximately 10".

The upper and lower portions of the shaft subtend an included angle x,as is illustrated in FIG. 3, of approximately That is to say, the upperand lower portions of the shaft are out of alinement with each otherapproximately 30 from a straight line. In a putter having a shaftapproximately thirty-four inches long the deflection A from the plumbline is three and one-half to four inches. This angle and degree ofdeflection is not critical. It is merely illustrative of a preferredarrangement of parts.

The length of putter shafts vary within limits so that they will conformto the height of a golfer, the degree to which he crouches in addressinghis putt and the manner in which he stands. The critical factor is thata golfer should be able to stand with his eyes over the ball when it isplaced adjacent the balls or toes of his feet with the putter hangingpendent from his hands in natural putting position and with his line ofsight looking down the lower portion of the putter shaft, as isillustrated in FIG. 2. If the shaft is bent at an oblique angle toaccommodate this position the putters elbows may rest lightly or brushagainst his body and in making his back swing and follow through he maylook squarely down upon the back of the ball being putted and when theball is struck by the putting face the face will be vertical and theball will be struck to produce overspin or good rolling effect so as tohold the line to the cup.

I have found that with a putter having the angular deflection of the twoportions of the shaft, the length suggested and the upward angularity ofthe striking face of the putter will permit comfortable and eflicientuse by substantially all golfers, both men and women. Of course, aslight adjustment may be made to suit the individual golfer by arrangingthe hands upon different parts of the grip so as to promote acomfortable stance and putting action. The putter is gripped with thepalms of the two hands squarely opposing each other and lying in theplane of the projected line of putt. The outward angle of the upperportion of the shaft is comfortable and corresponds, more or less, tothat of a straight shafted putter when used to strike a golf ball withthe feet alined with the line of flight rather than straddling saidline. The mass of the putter is supported by the forefingers and thewrists move upon a single axis of articulation. The putter may be swungbackward between the feet comfortably for a relatively long back stroke,as with a long putt, and the follow through may be accommodated withoutsetting up tension in the hands or arms and thus a smooth, true puttingstroke results. Because the putter hangs pendent when held in the handsin addressing the ball as illustrated in FIG. 2, it is not necessary toexercise a tight grip upon the putter. Upon the follow through theweight of the club is supported by the second joint of the twoforefingers. For the foregoing reasons there is no constriction ormuscular tension set up in a golfers hands which would disturb the swingof a putter in making a stroke nor to divert it from a straight linedown the line of flight. Due to the fact that the weight of the putterin making the hitting stroke and following through is supported by thetwo forefingers, the length of the putt may nicely be gauged and thehitting action controlled substantially entirely by the muscles in thehands and forearms.

I claim:

1. A golf putter having an elongated shaft with a club head fixedcentrally at one end thereof and with a grip at the other end, the clubhead having a ball striking surface lying substantially in a plane, saidshaft having a lower portion secured to said club head and an upperportion carrying said grip, said shaft portions subtending an obliqueangle with respect to each other in a plane normal to the plane of theball striking surface and at the median line thereof.

2. A golf putter having an elongated shaft with a club head fixedcentrally at one end thereof and with a grip at the other end, the clubhead having a ball striking surface lying substantially in a plane, saidshaft having a lower portion secured to said club head and an upperportion carrying said grip, said shaft portions subtending an obliqueangle with respect to each other in a plane normal to the plane of the'ball striking surface and at the median line thereof, of a magnitudethat the shaft is bent from a straight line extending from the tip ofthe grip to the striking face of the head a distance of approximatelyfour inches.

3. A golf putter having an elongated shaft with a club head fixedcentrally at one end thereof and with a grip at the other end, the clubhead having a ball striking surface lying substantially in a plane, saidshaft having a lower portion secured to said club head and an upperportion carrying said grip, said shaft portions subtending an obliqueangle with respect to each other in a plane normal to the plane of theball striking surface and at the median line thereof, said two shaftportions being of about equal length.

4. A golf putter having an elongated shaft with a club head fixedcentrally at one end thereof and with a grip at the other end, the clubhead having a ball striking surface lying substantially in a plane, saidshaft having a lower portion secured to said club head and an upperportion carrying said grip, said shaft portions subtending an obliqueangle with respect to each other in a plane normal to the plane of theball striking surface and at the median line thereof, said two shaftportions being of about equal length, and su-btending an included angleof about 5. A golf putter having an elongated shaft with a club headfixed centrally at one end thereof and with a grip at the other end, theclub head having a ball striking surface lying substantially in a plane,said shaft having a lower portion secured to said club head and an upperportion carrying said grip, said shaft portions subtending an obliqueangle with respect to each other in a plane normal to the plane of theball striking surface and at the median line thereof, said two shaftportions being of about equal length, and subtending an included angleof about 150, the striking surface of said head lying substantially in avertical plane When the putter is hanging pendent while the golf club isheld by the grip.

6. A golf putter having an elongated shaft with a club 'head fixedcentrally at one end thereof and with a grip at the other end, the clubhead having a ball striking surface lying substantially in a plane, saidshaft having a lower portion secured to said club head and an upperportion carrying said grip, said shaft portions subtending an obliqueangle with respect to each other in a plane normal to the plane of theball striking surface and at the median line thereof, the strikingsurface of said head being at an angle of approximately 10 from a planeparallel with the longitudinal dimension of the lower portion of theshaft.

7. A golf putter having an elongated shaft with a club head fixedcentrally at one end thereof and with a grip at the other end, the clubhead having a sole portion and a ball striking surface portion lyingsubstantially in a plane,

an upper portion carrying said grip, said shaft portions subtending anoblique angle with respect to each other in a plane normal to the planeof the ball striking surface and at the median line thereof, thestriking surface portion of said head being at an angle of approximately10 from a plane parallel with the longitudinal dimension of the lowerportion of the shaft, the club head having a sole portion of sled-runnershaped periphery, terminating at the striking surface portion in a planesubstantially normal to that of the striking surface and curvingupwardly and rearwardly from said striking surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

